ANIMATION IS FILM Festival Announces 2017 Winners

ANIMATION IS FILM announced the winners of its inaugural festival today with THE BREADWINNER, directed by Nora Twomey, sweeping both top honors of The Grand Prize, selected by the festival jury, and the Audience Award, selected by festival attendees. Twomey co-directed the Oscar®-nominated “The Secret of Kells” from Ireland’s Cartoon Saloon, the animation studio behind the Oscar-nominated “Song of the Sea.” Additionally, THE BIG BAD FOX & OTHER TALES, from Oscar-nominated Benjamin Renner (“Ernest & Celestine”) and Patrick Imbert, took home The Special Jury Prize. The film was produced by Oscar-nominated Didier Brunner (“Kirikou and the Sorceress,” “Triplets of Belleville,” “The Secret of Kells,” “Ernest & Celestine”).

Speaking on behalf of the entire jury, festival jury chair Peter Debruge, said “‘The Breadwinner’ is not just an incredibly important film, but one that reminds us of the power of animation to communicate serious issues in the world. Transforming hardship into a warm and moving story, the movie represents a triumph by its director, Nora Twomey, in terms of script, voice acting, design, music and editing. The films in competition this year illustrated the many techniques and possibilities of animation, but “The Breadwinner”was a clear favorite among our jury. Special Jury Prize goes to “The Big Bad Fox and Other Tales” a comedy that celebrates the joys of traditional cartoon animation.”

The inaugural edition of ANIMATION IS FILM took place October 20-22 at the TCL Chinese 6 Theater in Hollywood. The Festival presented a selection of twelve new animated feature films in competition, with selections from Asia, Europe, South America and North America, and filmmakers attending for most screenings. Additionally, the festival presented studio events, special screenings, short film programs, and a VR lounge, with the majority of screenings selling out. The festival was presented by GKIDS, Annecy Int’l Animation Film Festival, Variety, and ASIFA Hollywood, with major sponsors LA Times, IndieWire, Cartoon Brew, Fathom Events and Google. Full 2017 film lineup is available at AnimationIsFilm.com.

ANIMATION IS FILM fills a gap in the market by establishing a world class animation festival in the US, with its home in the world capital of filmmaking. The Festival embraces the highest aspirations of animation as a cinematic art form on par with live action filmmaking and will be vocal advocate for filmmakers who push the boundaries of their work to the fullest range of expression that the medium is capable of.

From executive producer Angelina Jolie and Cartoon Saloon, creators of the Academy Award®-nominated “The Secret of Kells” and “Song of the Sea,” comes the highly-anticipated new feature based on Deborah Ellis’ bestseller. “The Breadwinner” tells the story of Parvana, a 12-year-old girl growing up under the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001. When her father is wrongfully arrested, Parvana dresses as a boy in order to work and provide for her family. Together with her best friend Shauzia, she risks discovery to try to find out if her father is still alive.

“The Breadwinner” is produced by Aircraft Pictures in Canada, Cartoon Saloon in Ireland, and Melusine Productions in Luxembourg.

THE BIG BAD FOX & OTHER TALES – US Premiere

Directors Patrick Imbert, Benjamin Renner, France, 2017

Release date: February 2018

The countryside isn’t always as calm and peaceful as it’s made out to be, and the animals on this farm are particularly agitated: a fox who mothers a family of chicks, a rabbit who plays the stork, and a duck who wants to be Santa Claus. If you think life in the country is a walk in the park, think again! “The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales” is co-directed by Academy Award®-nominee Benjamin Renner and Patrick Imbert. Based on Renner’s own graphic novel, “The Big Bad Fox,” the film is a hilarious compilation of three outlandish tales set on an everyday farm. “The Big Bad Fox & Other Tales” is produced by Folivari in France.

LEATHERFACE arrives on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital December 19

The origins of the infamous Texas Chain Saw Massacre are finally revealed when Leatherface arrives on Blu-ray™ (plus Digital), DVD and Digital December 19 from Lionsgate. The film is currently available On Demand. Starring Stephen Dorff as a vengeful Texas sheriff and Lili Taylor as the Sawyer family matriarch, the legendary monster gets his mask after three asylum inmates escape and leave a blood-soaked trail. From French filmmakers Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo (Inside), the Leatherface Blu-ray and DVD are loaded with never-before-seen special features, including deleted scenes, an alternate beginning and alternate ending, and will be available for the suggested retail price of $21.99 and $19.98, respectively.

OFFICIAL SYNOPSIS

In Texas, years before the events of the Texas Chain Saw Massacre, in the early days of the infamous Sawyer family, the youngest child is sentenced to a mental hospital after a suspicious incident leaves the sheriff’s daughter dead. Ten years later, he kidnaps a young nurse and escapes with three other inmates. Pursued by authorities, including the deranged sheriff out to avenge his daughter’s death, the Sawyer teen goes on a violent road trip from hell, molding him into the monster now known as Leatherface.

CALL ME BY YOUR NAME, the new film by Luca Guadagnino, is a sensual and transcendent tale of first love, based on the acclaimed novel by André Aciman. It’s the summer of 1983 in the north of Italy, and Elio Perlman (Timothée Chalamet), a precocious 17- year-old American-Italian boy, spends his days in his family’s 17th century villa transcribing and playing classical music, reading, and flirting with his friend Marzia (Esther Garrel). Elio enjoys a close relationship with his father (Michael Stuhlbarg), an eminent professor specializing in Greco-Roman culture, and his mother Annella (Amira Casar), a translator, who favor him with the fruits of high culture in a setting that overflows wit h natural delights. While Elio’s sophistication and intellectual gifts suggest he is already a fully-fledged adult, there is much that yet remains innocent and unformed about him, particularly about matters of the heart. One day, Oliver (Armie Hammer), a charming American scholar working on his doctorate, arrives as the annual summer intern tasked with helping Elio’s father. Amid the sun-drenched splendor of the setting, Elio and Oliver discover the heady beauty of awakening desire over the course of a summer that will alter their lives forever.

The all-star lineup for director Jon Favreau’s new take on Disney’s 1994 classic animated film “The Lion King” includes stars from the film, TV, theater and music arenas. Featuring pioneering filmmaking techniques, the film welcomes back to the big screen iconic characters that audiences have long treasured—but in a whole new way. From Disney Live Action, “The Lion King” is slated for U.S. theaters on July 19, 2019.

“It is a director’s dream to assemble a talented team like this to bring this classic story to life,” said Favreau.

“The Lion King” is directed by Favreau (“The Jungle Book,” Marvel Studios’ “Iron Man”) and produced by Favreau, Jeffrey Silver (“Beauty and the Beast,” “Edge of Tomorrow”) and Karen Gilchrist (“The Jungle Book,” “Chef”). Jeff Nathanson (“Catch Me If You Can,” “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales”) penned the screenplay based on the 1994 screenplay by Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts and Linda Woolverton. Tom Peitzman (co-producer “Kong: Skull Island,” “Alice in Wonderland”) and Thomas Schumacher (“The Lion King,” “Beauty and the Beast”) are executive producers, and John Bartnicki (“The Jungle Book,” “Chef”) is co-producer. The award-winning team of artists tapped to bring the African savanna and its animal inhabitants to life include visual effects supervisor Rob Legato, who conceived the virtual production on “Avatar,” won Academy Awards® for his work on “The Jungle Book,” “Hugo” and “Titanic,” and was nominated for an Oscar® for his work on “Apollo 13.”

The film’s animation supervisor is Oscar®-winner Andrew R. Jones (“The Jungle Book,” “Avatar,” “World War Z”). VFX supervisor is Adam Valdez (“The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers”), who won an Oscar for his work on “The Jungle Book.” Five-time Oscar nominee Caleb Deschanel, ASC, (“Jack Reacher,” “The Patriot”), is director of photography, and James Chinlund (“War for the Planet of the Apes,” “Marvel’s The Avengers”) serves as the production designer. Oscar winner Ben Grossman (“Alice in Wonderland,” “Hugo,” “Star Trek into Darkness”) is virtual production supervisor, and Mark Livolsi, ACE, (“The Jungle Book,” “Saving Mr. Banks,” “The Blind Side”) and Adam Gerstel (“Transformers: The Last Knight,” “The Jungle Book”) are editors. Hans Zimmer (“Dunkirk,” “Hidden Figures”), who won an Oscar for his score for the animated classic, will score the adventure.